Virginia rescinds COVID-19 workplace rules
On March 21, 2022, the Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board adopted the final revocation of the Virginia Standard for Infectious Disease Prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus That Causes COVID-19 (“Virginia Standard”), 16VAC25-220. The revocation became effective March 23, 2022. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) is replacing the revoked standard with a […]
Call for Entries: 2022 Digital Counties Survey
BEGINNING IN TWO WEEKS – Celebrate National County Government Month This April
Join the National Association of Counties (NACo) in celebrating National County Government Month (NCGM). Held each April, NCGM is an annual celebration of county government and an excellent opportunity for counties, parishes and boroughs to highlight effective county programs and raise public awareness about services provided to the community. Throughout April, counties have an opportunity to […]
General Assembly Adjourns, Will Return for Special Session to Finalize Budget
The General Assembly adjourned on Saturday, March 12, as planned, but without completing work on revisions to the current budget and a budget for the upcoming biennium. Legislators agreed to allow the budget bills, as well as any other legislation pending in conference committees at the time of adjournment, to be carried over to a […]
Premier Partner Spotlight – Blue Line Solutions Part 2
Blue Line Solutions | PE&I/Public Education and Information VACo’s newest Premier Partner, Blue Line Solutions, offers a TrueBlue Highway Safety Program that can be implemented in School Zones and Construction Zones, where data has shown that drivers are unaware that their driving behavior is not in alignment with public safety. A key element of this […]
Enter the VACo 2022 Achievement Awards
Dear VACo Members – It’s time for the 2022 Achievement Awards Program. Any county department is eligible to compete so ENTER NOW! Achievement Awards Submission Form All entries are required to be submitted in electronic form. No paper copy submissions are necessary. The electronic copy should be a PDF or WORD file. Email entries to Gage […]
Visit Albemarle County and the Albemarle County Courthouse
Location: 501 East Jefferson Street / Park Street Built: 1761 – 1781 Style: Greek Revival Architect: William Cabell Contractor: William Cabell and John Moore Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Charlottesville. The south front has a […]
$100 million in federal funds now available to Virginia localities for drinking water infrastructure
The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) is now accepting applications for grants and loans to improve drinking water infrastructure. Federal funds made available through American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) covers the following types of projects for small and disadvantaged community waterworks: Facilities to improve drinking water quality Transmission and distribution: […]
Premier Partner – Three+one launches new website
“We are thrilled to unveil our new three+one® website with more benefits than ever before: videos, case studies, webinars & testimonials.” Link: www.threeplusone.us
Update on Property Tax Exemption Legislation
HB 1168 (Watts) would allow a taxpayer who is eligible for the mandatory real property tax exemption for disabled veterans or their surviving spouses or the surviving spouses of servicemembers who are killed in action to claim a refund retroactive to his/her date of eligibility. Under the bill, the window for claiming refunds would extend […]
School Construction Legislation Roundup
As previously reported, numerous bills have been filed seeking to address the issue of School Construction and Modernization this session. Many of these bills have been defeated, however, several efforts are still ongoing. VACo supports additional state resources and additional funding options for localities for capital and school construction costs, including expanding dedicated local sales […]
Bill Expanding Exemption from Minimum Building Code Standards for Agritourism Event Buildings Narrowed to Study
SB 400 (Hanger), as introduced, would initiate a regulatory process to create basic building code standards utilized to host certain events in a farm building or structure. Under current law, these farm buildings or structures used primarily for agricultural operations are exempt from building code. This legislation would also have expanded the building code exemption […]
Helpful Public Notice Bills Moving Along Smoothly
HB 167 (Ransone) Publication of notice by localities. This bill passed the House and Senate and provides that in any instance in which a locality has submitted a correct and timely notice request to such newspaper and the newspaper fails to publish the notice, or publishes the notice incorrectly, such locality shall be deemed to have met […]
School Resource Officer Bill Resurrected with New Language
Legislation that would have required each local school board to employ at least one school resource officer or one school security officer at each public elementary and secondary school was brought back from the jaws of defeat by the Senate Education and Health Committee with new language. As previously reported, HB 873 (Greenhalgh) would have […]
Public Notice Provision Study
HB 1131 (Williams) / SB 417 (Stanley) Virginia Code Commission; work group to review public notices required to be published by localities. VACo supports these bills that direct the Virginia Code Commission to convene a work group to review requirements throughout the Code of Virginia for localities to provide public notice for intended actions and events, including (i) the […]
Finance Roundup
In addition to several bills considered by the General Assembly dealing with local taxes on which VACo has reported in detail, a number of other finance-related bills have been considered. Below is an update on the status of these bills. HB 148 (Runion)/SB 684 (Mason) allow a political subdivision responsible for administering water, wastewater, stormwater, […]